Telephone light mounting



Sept. 9, 1952 O. A. CUNNINGHAM TELEPHONE LIGHT MOUNTING Filed Feb. 23, 1949 Arme/viv:-

Patented Sept. 9, 195.2

`UNITED STATES PATE NT Y(DFI-"11C?E e irELEenoNE `LIGHT MOUNTING VOrville A. Cunningham, Maywood, Calif. ApplicationFebruary 23, 1.949, Serial No. 77,771

Thisinven'tionrelates' to a mounting device `for securing alight, such asfaflashlight, to fa telephone, and more particularlytoalmounting'device for securing such a light to one 'end of a combined telephone 'receiver and mouthpiece structure.

It `is `among the objects of the. invention to `provide a mounting deviceior securing a flashtelephone mouthpiece and the flashlight,l which.

holds thev ilashlight relative to the mouthpiece in positionjsuch that the`` receiver `andmouthpiece `combination is `not materially unbalanced or caused to turn `or tilton the telephone cradle,

\ and whichis simple and durable inconstruction,

economical tomanufacture, and -neatiand attractiveI infappearace. Y

Other objects and `advantages willbecome apparent from a considerationof the following description and the appended `claims in. conjunction with the accompanyingfdrawing, wherein:

`Figure `1 is a front `eleve'ltion of a--fragmentary portion of a'telephone receiver and mouthpiece coinbination showing` the mouthpiecelend of the combination'with aaslilig'htfmound 'on `the `mouthpiece byamou'n'ting' device illustrative of the invention;

Figure 2 is aside elevation of themouthpiece, flashlight and flashlight mounting device illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse crosssection on a somewhat enlarged scale of the mounting device taken substantially on'the line 3-3 of Figure l; Figurefl is a cross-sectionon the line 'll-L4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5l is alongitudinaL medial `cross-"section of afla`shlight `of suitable construction for the purposes of the invention; and

"Figure 6 is a top plan view `of theilashlight `illustrated'in Figure i5 with the vcap and light bulb removed'toillustrate the flashlight switch.

With continued reference to the drawing,'the combined receiver and `mouthpiece"structure oi" the telephone, asffragmentarily illustrated,gin cludesa-handle lll-uponxone end of which is A'mounted the VVreceiver, not illustrated, and upon realms (o1. 17e-17s) 2 the other end of which is mounted the-:mouthpiece, `generally indicated at ll.

The mouthpiece-receiving end of vthefhandle it is turned substantially at right angles to the handle, as indicated at l2, and; provided-witheX- ternal screw threads upon which is `threaded a substantially cylindrical mouthpiecehousing i3, which is also provided near.its outer end with external screw threads. The I.telephone 4cord Iii extends through an opening in the. mouthpiece end of the handle lll, and Vatmouthpiececover is secured on the outer end ofthe housing i3. This cover includes an internally screwthreaded, an nular ring lfanda curvcd-shie`ld llmarginally secured to the ring I5 and overlying a portion oi the outerend of the mouthpiece.`

As the telephone mouthpiece is `of wellfknown construction, .a further description thereof is considered unnecessary` for` the .purposes of `the lpresent disclosure.

The Ilashlight illustrated, Which may also, ce of conventional construction,. comprises `an elongated casing I'! of somewhatjelliptical crosssectional shape and having ,anopen end and an end wall I8 closingits opposite end; `'This casing may be formed of any suitable material, such as hard rubber, synthetic resin plastic, or" metal, and is of a size and shape toreceive `two conventional flashlight battery 'cells i9" therein, these cells being disposed in reversed, end-to-end'rela tionship, so that .the center terminal of one .cell is adjacent the end wall I8; and the center, terminal of the other cell isadjacenttheopenfend oi the casing.

A U-shaped spring 2U is secured to the inner side of the end wall i8 substinitiallyat'the center of the latter,v and bears at'one end against the center terminal of the correspondingloattery.cell, and at its opposite end again'stlthe. bottom `ci the other battery cell to electrically,interfconnect the two cells at their ends adjacent the' endvvall i8, a bottom plate 2l of electrically insulated `niaterial being interposed between the spring, 2li `and the end wall I8, if considered necessary ordesirable.` A hollow cap ,2,2 isreceived onthe ,easing il at the open end of the latter and has-one open .end receiving the open end `of the casing, and an end wall 23 `at v its opposite, end. i, A boss o `24 projects inwardly from ,the endlwall 23 of the cap near the center ci"theyendwall,` and a-leaf spring 254 is secured to the; endzlof athislzbossand bears at one end upon the bottom.endofitheibattery cell 19, the center. contact of which contacts y the'spring- `2i). At its opposite Tend the: leaf spring f 25 carries abulbffsocket 26Jand:alamploulbl material, as indicated at 33, and the opposite end` of which is formed of electrically conductive rna-r l terial.

When the switch lever is in the operative position illustrated in Figure 6, the body of electrically insulative material is interposed betweenjj the center terminal 29 of the lamp bulb and the Y adjacent battery cell center terminal, so that the lamp illuminating circuit is interrupted, and when the switch is moved to the operative position indicated in dotted lines in Figure 6, the electrically conductive portion of the bar 32 is interposed between the center terminal of the bulb and the adjacent battery terminal, so that a lamp-illuminating circuit is completed for the lamp bulb 2.

While a suitable flashlight has been illustrated and described in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular ilashlight so illustrated and described, but that various types of flashlights may be used, without in any way exceeding the scope of the invention. The ashlignt used should be of smal1 size and of suiciently light weight so that it does not interfere with the normal use of the telephone nor unbalance the receiver mouthpiece combination portion of the telephone, or cause such comloination to tilt on the supporting cradle.

The flashlight mounting device comprises a split ring 35 of thin, resilient material, such as steel, having a circumferential length substantially equal to the circumference of the annular portion I5 of the mouthpiece cover. This ring has at its ends respective apertured lugs 35 which project radially outwardly oi the ring, and are somewhat spaced apart when the ring operatively surrounds the annular portion of the mouthpiece cover, and a ring contracting screw 31 extends through these lugs and is threadedly engaged with one oi them to contract the ring onto the mouthpiece cover. spaced-apart tongues 38 extend inwardly from one edge of the ring 35 to engage the edge of the annular portion l5 of the mouthpiece cover and nrmly secure the ring on the cover against accidental displacement. Intermediate its ends the ring is provided with a raised area 39 having a central aperture 40 and a bolt, generally indicated at 4l, has its head 42 disposed in the raised area 39 of the ring and its stem 43 extending through the aperture 4U and provided with a screw-threaded bore 45. Preferably a corrugated spring washer or lock washer 46 is interposed between the bolt head 42 and the :inner surface of the ring 35 surrounding the :aperture 4B.

A cylindrical spacing sleeve 4l is coterrninous with the outer end of the bolt shank 43.

A ashlight clip, generally indicated at 43, having a length somewhat less than the length of the flashlight and a cross-sectional shape, substantially the same as the cross-sectional shape of the flashlight, is `provided with spaced-apart, opposed spring arms 49 to resiliently engage a flashlight and retain the ilashlight in the clip.

4 At a location opposite the spring arms 49 the clip is provided with a raised area 50 which is adapted to bear against the outer ends of the bolt shank 43 and spacer sleeve 41, and is provided with a central aperture 5I somewhat smaller than the aperture 40 in the raised area of the ring 35. A screw 52 extends through the aperture 5l in the raised area 5U of the battery clip and is threaded into the bore of the bolt shank 43 to rigidly secure the clip 48 to the ring 35. If desired, a lock washer 53 ris interposed between the head of the screw 52 and the adjacent surface of the raised portion 50 of the clip 'surrounding the aperture 5l, and a thin bearing l5 washer 54 may be interposed between the head of the screw and the lock washer 53 to facilitate tightening the screw into the bore of the bolt 4|.

With this arrangement the ring 35 can be adjusted circumferentially of the mouthpiece cover and rmly locked in adjusted position and the battery clip 4B can be rotationally adjusted relative to the ring and also held in adjusted position against accidental movement.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come Within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

l. In combination with a telephone mouthpiece and receiver combination including a mouthpiece housing of circular shape having an open end, a curved shield overlying the open end of said housing and a cover including an annular ring portion threaded onto said housing at the open end of the latter and marginally engaging said shield, a flashlight assembly comprising a split circular band embracingly engaging the ring portion of said cover and having an aperture therein and a raised portion surrounding said aperture, a resilient clip having an aperture therein and a raised portion surrounding the aperture therein, the raised portions of Ysaid band and said clip being convexly opposed, a fastener extending through the apertures in said and said clip pivotally connecting the latter to the former, a spacing sleeve surrounding said fastener between said raised portions and maintaining said clip spaced from said band, and a flashlight supported in said clip.

2. In combination with a telephone mouthpiece and receiver combination including a mouthpiece housing of circular shape having an open end, a curved shield overlying the open end of said housing and a cover including an annular ring portion threaded onto said housing at the open end of the latter and marginally engaging said cover, a ashlight assembly comprising a split circular band embracingly engaging the ring portion of said cover and having an aperture therein and a raised portion surrounding said aperture, a resilient clip having an aperture therein and a raised portion surrounding the aperturetherein, the raised portions of said band and said clip being convexly opposed, a bolt eX- tending through the apertures in said Yband and said clip and having its head disposed in one of said raised portions and having a screw-threaded bore in its other end, a screw threaded into the bore in said bolt and having its head disposed Vin the other of said raised portions, a spacing said shield, a flashlight assembly comprising a 1 split -circular band embracingly engaging the ring portion of said cover and having an aperture therein and a raised portion surrounding said aperture, tongues on said band at spaced apart locations therearound projecting inwardly from said band and engaging under the ring portion of said cover, a resilient clip having an aperture therein and a raised portion surrounding the aperture therein, the raised portions of said band and said clip being convexly opposed, a bolt exe tending through the apertures in said band and said clip and having its head received in one of said raised portions, said bolt having a screwthreaded bore in the end thereof remote from said head, a screw threaded into the screw- 6 threaded bore in said bolt and having its head received in the other of said raised portions, a spacing sleeve surrounding said bolt between said raised portions and maintaining said clip spaced from said band, and a flashlight supported in said clip.

4. In combination with a unitary telephone mouthpiece and receiver assembly including a mouthpiece housing of substantially circular cross-sectional shape having an open endl a curved shield overlying the open end of said housing and a cover including a ring portion threaded onto said housing at the open end thereof and marginally engaging said shield, a flashlight assembly comprising a resilient band embracingly engaging the ring portion of said cover, a resilient clip, means pivotally connecting said clip to said band, and a flashlight supported in said clip.

ORVILLE A. CUNNINGHAM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,487,674 Starbird Mar. 18, 1924 1,846,345 McCarten Feb. 23, 1932 2,436,678 Somers Feb.. 24, 1948 

